Amitabh is operated upon

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan underwent a three-hour-long surgery at Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital tonight for the treatment of “diverti...

Superstar Amitabh Bachchan underwent a three-hour-long surgery at Mumbai’s Lilavati hospital tonight for the treatment of “diverticulitis of the small intestine,” a condition which caused inflammation and perforations. He is in “stable condition,” a short hospital statement said late tonight.

Sources said the surgery—which began at 5.30 pm—was conducted by a panel of three doctors: Dr Jayant Barve, a gastroenterologist and the Bachchan family doctor; oncologist Dr P Jagannath and Dr Prakash Jayandani, chief of the Intensive Care Unit.

Doctors, both at Escorts in Delhi where he was first admitted and at Lilavati, had hoped that Bachchan could be treated with antibiotics and rest. However, they decided to go in for surgery when perforations were detected and subsequent leakage threatened to infect the entire abdominal lining.

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‘‘A lump was seen during the CT scan in Delhi. The pouches or diverticuli had been infected,” said a doctor who treated the superstar.

Hospital sources said the perforations showed up in two CT scans of the abdomen taken last night and this morning.

While experts said there was no clear evidence to link the 1982 injury—when Bachchan was shooting for Coolie—to his present condition, they admitted that in diverticulitis, “weak places in the intestine” can give way under pressure and form “pouches.” For most of the day, fans continued to throng the hospital premises, hoping that Bachchan would be discharged. By evening many left, only a large group of journalists waited. But as word of the operation spread, the fans returned.

‘‘We were told that he would be discharged today, which is why I left all my housework and came here,’’ said Jyoti Sagar, a homemaker from Colaba, who was sitting in the hospital OPD for over four hours.

Many others came to see celebrities who dropped by: Prem Chopra, Anupam Kher, Juhi Chawla, Tabu, Govinda, Akshay Kumar, Dimple Kapadia, Katrina Kaif, Anil Ambani, Ram Gopal Varma, Sudesh Bhosle and Subroto Roy. Roy even brought yoga guru Ramdeo Maharaj along.